JOHANNESBURG, July 3 (Reuters) - The South African rand gained on Thursday on optimism among global investors about trade negotiations with the U.S. after the country signed a trade deal with Vietnam, fuelling hopes of more such deals ahead of a July 9 deadline set by Washington. At 1556 GMT the rand traded at 17.4950 against the U.S. dollar, up...

01:05 PM EDT, 07/03/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Tech stocks were higher Thursday afternoon, with the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) rising 1.3% and the SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD) adding 1.2%. The Philadelphia Semiconductor index was up 0.6%. In corporate news, Datadog ( DDOG ) shares jumped nearly 16% following announcement that the software company will be joining the...

12:50 PM EDT, 07/03/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Nektar Therapeutics ( NKTR ) slid 4.5% on Thursday after the biopharmaceuticals firm overnight said it closed a $115 million public offering of its common stock, including the full exercise of an over-allotment option by underwriters for the deal. Traders have exchanged slightly more than 800,000 shares on Thursday, roughly half the stock's...

* US job growth beats expectations in June * Tripadvisor ( TRIP ) gains on report Starboard Value built stake * Synopsys, Cadence rise as US lifts China export curbs (Updates to U.S. market close) By Sabrina Valle NEW YORK, July 3 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq closed at record highs on Thursday after a stronger-than-expected U.S....